1 John 1:1-4 Eternal Life in the Flesh

You are listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Mattawan, Michigan.

Good morning.

Introduction and Christmas-Time Reflections

You may have a seat, please. My name is Ben Wainwright. I'm the associate pastor of Youth Ministries here. It's great to see so many bright and smiling faces here this morning. I consider it an immense blessing to be standing before you here today, privileged and entrusted with the preaching of God's holy and precious word.

This is the first time that I've been asked to preach before in front of the congregation, and I'm very grateful to God for giving me this incredible opportunity. For those of you who know me, you're probably looking at the clock.

You're well aware that I'm quite a talker, and you're wondering, how is this guy gonna get through a sermon in 15 to 20 minutes? Well, we'll see if that happens. No, I'm joking. We'll do it, we'll do it.

But all glory goes to God for keeping me focused on his word, and I'm just very thankful for this time. So, it's hard to believe that we're just a week away from Christmas Eve already, isn't it? It's crazy.

On top of that, it's pretty wild that we're just 15 days away from the year 2024. Seems so futuristic, doesn't it? Well, in my 32 years of life, I've heard the phrase said so many times, time flies, so cherish each moment.

I've heard a lot of different people tell me that. Well, a year ago, when I first became a father, I was told not to blink because my daughter, Sloane, will be crawling before I know it. Well, sure enough, I blinked more than once, and just this past week, she turned 13 months old, and now she's running through our house every day at what seems like lightning speed, and having fun with our Christmas tree ornaments.

That's a real blast. But anyways, I can understand why people say now that the older you get, the faster it seems that time goes by. While no one can figure out how to stop time from passing so quickly, there is one way to ensure that your eternity is spent with God, and that's by putting your faith in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So today, we're gonna be studying a short but incredibly powerful passage of scripture about Jesus from 1 John chapter one, verses one through four. 1 John is an epistle. An epistle means that it is a letter, and this New Testament book of 1 John was written by the apostle John.

John was the brother of James and one of the 12 disciples who followed Jesus during his time on earth. He learned directly from Jesus by witnessing firsthand his many teachings and miracles. The first four verses of 1 John chapter one are more than just a prologue to the rest of the entire book.

They are a prologue to God's amazing gift of eternal life. If our creator chose not to take on flesh and become part of his creation as fully God and fully man, then there would be no such thing as Christianity.

Therefore, without the incarnation or physical birth of Jesus Christ, the marvelous holiday that we all love so much of Christmas would become nonexistent. But infinitely worse than that tragedy, our lives would be utterly meaningless and insignificant since salvation is only achieved through the perfect life and sacrifice of Jesus to atone for our sins.

Thankfully, we can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus because his life was made manifest to us when God sent him to earth a little over 2 ,000 years ago. Now, I ask that you please open up your Bibles or your devices.

We're gonna be turning to, if you've got your Bible, it's towards the back of your Bible, 1 John chapter one. And I'm gonna read the first four verses for us. Recast, this is the precious and holy word of God that we have before us here.

I consider it a great privilege to stand in front of you and read these incredible truths about our Lord and Savior Jesus. So please follow along with me as I read 1 John chapter one, verses one through four.

The Apostolic Witness to the Word of Life

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life. The life was made manifest and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.

That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Please bow with me as I pray. Dear God, I thank you so much for this morning. I thank you for the children who poured their hearts into this wonderful performance this morning. And Lord, it was not a performance to, yes, we love the cuteness, but Lord, it was to glorify you.

I thank you for the volunteers helping out in that. And Lord, I just hope that you were honored through that. It was just an immense blessing and I hope that everybody was able to enjoy it. And Lord, as we take this final time of our time together here, I just pray that you will bless the words that I'm able to speak, the truth from your word.

And we just thank you so much for bringing us all together here. We love you so much, Lord, and we pray this in your name.

Amen.

Jesus as the Beginning, the Incarnate Word, and Eternal Life

Please keep your Bibles open or reopen them back up to 1 John 1 -4. That's the passage that we're gonna be going through today. But before we dive further into the passage, I wanna give you the sermon outline that we have here.

Being just four verses, it's just broken up into two parts. So part one covers verses one through two, and that is titled, It All Starts With Jesus. Part two covers verses three and four, and that is titled, Christian Fellowship Is Triangular.

So the first part of my outline comes from a direct quote in today's children's program. Maybe some of you recognize that phrase. When asked how the Christmas story begins, one of our fantastic actors stated this.

He said, it can't start with Jesus, he isn't even born yet. Well, the response to this claim was simple yet profoundly accurate, and it was this. It all starts with Jesus.

Yes.

So please take a look with me at verse one of our text today. Here, John starts off by saying this. He says, that which was from the beginning. So the logical question here is, what beginning is he talking about?

Well, Genesis 1 -1, the very beginning of our Bible says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Reading this passage, we don't hear any direct mention of the name Jesus, so how could everything start with him?

Well, let me read another verse for us. This verse comes from the beginning of the fourth gospel written by John. John chapter 1 -1 says this. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

One more verse from John chapter 1 helps us further understand that John is talking about Jesus. Verse 14 of John chapter 1 says this. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

These verses confirm for us that Jesus was with God as part of the Trinity before creation. So back to our text, 1 John chapter 1 verse 1. It goes on to say, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands.

The pronouns used here, we and our, they are referring to John and the other disciples. So for anyone doubting the validity of John's proclamation, his authority to speak on these matters is defended in three ways.

First, John has heard Jesus with his ears. Second, John has seen Jesus with his eyes, both before and after Christ's resurrection. And third, John has even touched Jesus with his very own hands. So John concludes verse 1 by saying, concerning the word of life.

Well, our earlier reading from the gospel of John 1, 1 and 14 tell us that Jesus is the word of life. So we know that's exactly who John is talking about here. As an actual eyewitness to the physical existence of Jesus Christ, John continues in verse 2 by saying that the life, being Jesus himself, was made manifest.

To be made manifest means to show or to make openly known to others. Think about it, before the foundation of a new building is even poured, an architect must come up with a drawing of what the building is to look like.

We know this is referred to as a blueprint. After the structure is built, it's usually revealed or made manifest to the public through a grand opening. Before God ever spoke a single word to begin creation, he knew all along that his plan to save us from our sins would be put into motion by making his son, Jesus, manifest in the flesh.

Jesus' humble birth as a baby in a manger on Christmas night a little over 2 ,000 years ago is the beginning of God's perfect plan of salvation. John concludes verse 2 by repeating that the disciples have seen Jesus and testified to the truth of his human existence and proclaim to you the eternal life.

Notice that there in that verse. He doesn't just say eternal life, he says the eternal life. Church, it is Jesus alone who is the essential core of the Christian faith, not a system of thought or a set of religious practices.

Jesus himself is eternal life because eternal life is only found in him. Therefore, the good news of the gospel is Christ and all genuine spiritual unity is grounded in the truth of the gospel. So that brings us to our second and final point for today from verses three and four.

Christian Fellowship, the Gospel, and Joy in Christ

Christian fellowship is triangular. I found this phrase while reading the NIV application commentary by a guy named Gary Burge and I thought it was an excellent analogy. Just like a triangle has three connected sides, Christian fellowship consists of three things.

My life in fellowship with Christ, your life in fellowship with Christ, and my life in fellowship with yours. So in verse three of our text, John says, so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ.

Intimate fellowship in the Christian community is only possible when there is consensus about the identity and work of Jesus. Jesus is God, church, and Jesus took the wrath that you deserve for your sinful rebellion so that you can be saved from your sins.

A right understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done for us should inform how we live in unity together. The name RECAST is an acronym for our core values. The R stands for replication, the C stands for community, the RE stands for replication, the C stands for community, the A stands for authenticity, the S for simplicity, and the T for truth.

The primary reason why my wife and I committed to making RECAST our church home a little over five years ago was mainly for the T in truth. Erica and I, we deeply care for the church body that God has brought in together here.

We love the brothers and sisters in Christ that we have, and we love that everybody's authentic with each other, cares for each other, prays with and for one another. But back to the core value of truth.

Stated word for word, it says this. We believe God's word, the Bible, to be the ultimate source of truth, and we base everything we do on the truth found within the pages of scripture. Amen to that. Christian community grows from the Holy Spirit through a relationship with God in his son, Jesus Christ.

I'm so thankful that God has given us the Bible for us to learn more about him, and that the Holy Spirit enables us to grasp the life-changing truth of the gospel. We'll conclude this week's sermon by looking at verse four.

So take a look there with me, and it says, and we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. Church, true, lasting joy can only be found in a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 1611 says this. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. So as great as you might get along with your closest family member, or perhaps someone who is a fellow Michigan or Notre Dame fan, go Irish.

Where's Joe?

Sorry.

Or even a coworker who wears the same pair of running shoes as you, or loves reading the same book series as you do. As good as you might get along with them, there is no joy comparable to that which we get in fellowship with Jesus.

So as this sermon comes to a close, I wanna leave you with two quick application points for today. Point number one, receive Christ today. Do not wait, do not hesitate, church. Romans 5 .8 says this. God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The amazing truth of the gospel is that Jesus died for your sins so that you can be saved and receive his gift of eternal life. If you feel led today to put your faith in Christ, repent of your sins and accept him as your Lord and Savior, after the service is over, please come up to me, our lead pastor, Don, our worship leader, Dave, or our elder on duty, Dan, and we would absolutely love to pray with you.

Point number two, share in the joy of fellowship with each other through Jesus. Romans 1 .16 says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

To those of you who have already repented of your sins and committed your life to Christ, rejoice in the gospel with fellow believers that God has brought together here at Recast. And also thank God for every brother and sister who he has placed into your life.

And do this by glorifying him through all your activities, conversations, and interactions with each other. So as we come now to prepare our hearts for communion, I pray that at this time that we will bring honor to God by expressing our gratitude to him for his incredible gift of salvation.

We close every week together with this time of reflecting on what Jesus has done for us on the cross. And it is my hope that this weekly reminder of the cross further deepens your love for Jesus and strengthens your relationship with him.

I'm so thankful what Jesus Christ endured for us each and every one of us here so that we can be saved from our sins. So I ask that you please, at this time, you will take and remember his body that was beaten and bruised for you as well as his blood that was poured out for your sins.

Receive his forgiveness that he freely offers you, church, and repent or turn from your sins to follow him. So if you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you are at peace with everyone here so far as it depends on you, then you will please get up.

You'll walk to one of the tables. We have some on the side, some in the back there. You'll take the cracker and juice and you'll bring it back to your seat with you. And after spending some personal time in prayer, you can eat the cracker and drink the juice, acknowledging Jesus's sacrifice on the cross and how it rescued you from your sins.

I encourage all of us here to daily find joy and peace in the fact that God made his son Jesus manifest to us as a fully divine and fully human being in order to save us from the punishment that we rightly deserve because of our sins against him.

Closing Prayer and Communion Exhortation

Let's please bow and close in prayer. God, I thank you so much for this morning, this time that we can spend together. Lord, I ask that you will just focus our hearts on you during these next few minutes of this time of communion.

Lord, let us pour out our hearts full of thankfulness that you selflessly sent your one and only son Jesus to the earth to be born, to live the perfect life that we cannot, and then to die on the cross for our sins.

We thank you for the incredible truth of the gospel. And Lord, I just pray that as we go from here today, that we will keep you at the center of our lives. We love you so much, and we thank you for these things.

In your name, amen.